


Change the Past. Choose the Future.

by Zoomda



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Freelancer as Family, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Travel, Tuckington and Kimbalina is only mentioned really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-01-16 04:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18513622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoomda/pseuds/Zoomda
Summary: Washington and Carolina get thrown into an alternate version of their past. Their ability to cope with the situation varies wildly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired mainly by [Sroloc_Elbisivni's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sroloc_Elbisivni/pseuds/Sroloc_Elbisivni) fic, [Unit Cohesion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6120097/chapters/14027506) and by [papanorth's](http://papanorth.tumblr.com) [Tuckington Time Travel AU](http://papanorth.tumblr.com/tagged/TTTAU) but with Wash and Carolina getting sent back instead.

The war on Chorus had been put to rest. All that remained was to clean up the remaining few mercenaries and start rebuilding the planet. Unfortunately, that first part was more difficult than Wash had first anticipated.

All of the Reds and Blues had been sent out to destroy one of the Mercs last safehouses. Carolina had gone in ahead to scout and see what they were dealing with. She reported that all of the mercs were holed up in a back room. She couldn’t see what they were doing but the mercs inside sounded panicked. They were shushing each other constantly and the sound of weapons trading hands could be heard.

The front door was the only access point to the room. Carolina would enter the room first, with Wash and the rest of the Reds and Blues trailing after. Wash pulled the pin on the flashbang and let the fuse run down for a few moments before Carolina opened the door a crack. He tossed the grenade inside and Carolina slammed the door shut. The flashbang went off inside and from the sounds of it, the mercs started firing wildly. Carolina threw the door open and started firing at the mercs inside. Wash followed. 

Inside of the room was all sorts of alien tech. Many of the mercenaries were holding pieces of tech, with their normal weapons piled in a corner. None of them seem to know how to properly use the devices, as half of the blinded mercs’ weapons weren’t even firing. One in the back of the room was holding something that looked less like a gun and more like a small cannon. Despite the confusion, he had managed to keep his weapon pointed at the door. When Carolina and Wash started firing, the merc pulled the switch on his weapon. 

The freelancers didn’t notice the cannon until it was too late and a bright light engulfed the two. 

By the time the Reds and Blues had entered the room, Carolina and Wash were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

 

North Dakota was sitting on a bar stool at the island in the kitchen of the freelancer community area while Wash dug through the fridge. 

“Are you sure we aren’t out of it?” North amusedly ate his toast with butter. 

“I’m sure there’s some, I specifically asked for it when we stopped for supplies.” 

North chuckled. “Well, you better find it quick or else your bagel is going to burn.”

Washington groaned and moved to collect his slightly burnt bagel from the toaster. One earbud hung out of his ear with the end of the earbuds leading into the pocket of the gray and yellow sweatshirt he was wearing. 

Wash pulled and cream cheese out of the fridge and added it to his bagel. He handed North another bagel from his seat on the counter. North walked around the counter and placed the new bagel in the toaster and pulled the peanut butter out of the cupboards in preparation. 

North and Wash held a conversation over the merits of putting fruit on a bagel while North split his attention between finishing his toast and preparing his sister’s breakfast. 

“It’s one thing to put peanut butter on a bagel, but you don’t just put fruit on it.” 

North set the bagel on a plate and slide it to the end of the counter. “Maine eats peanut butter and banana sandwiches.”

Wash pulled his phone out of his pocket and switched the song he was listening to. “Yeah, but that's a closed sandwich with bread. Not a bagel, which is meant to be eaten with nonsolids on it.”

North looked down the hall and saw his sister approaching. “A bagel is a bread.”

Wash slid off the counter to grab something to drink. “No, bagels are a grain. They are not bread.”

“If they aren’t bread, then what are they?” North handed Wash a glass from the cupboard.

“A grain.” Wash pulled out the gallon of milk and filled the glass before looking towards South. She glanced at the gallon and shook her head. 

North took the milk from Wash and set it back in the fridge. “That doesn’t really answer the question.”

“What the hell are you two arguing about?” 

“Whether or not it’s legal to put fruit on a bagel.”

South stared at Wash for a second. “What the fuck?”

The rookie threw one hand in the air, careful not to spill the milk in his other hand. “That’s what I said!”

South shook her head. “No, why are you drinking 1%? There’s 2% in there right?” South turned to her brother.

He nodded. “There is. Wash just prefers 1%.”

“Why?” South looked at her brother for a second. 

North moved to get his sister a glass of 2%. 

Wash crossed his arms defensively. “It’s what I always had at home. 2% tastes weird.”

“You taste weird. North, is there any whole milk?” South took the glass from her brother.

“No, there isn’t, or I would have given you some.” North started up the coffee machine and set a tea kettle on the stove to boil.

Wash set his glass on the counter and slid off it to put his plate in the trash. “Did your guys' family ever call milk something other than milk? My family always called it cow juice.”

South snorted. “We called it moo juice.”

“No, Mom called it moo juice. Mama normally called it milk but intentionally said it weird. Meelk.” North drew out the odd vowel for emphasis. 

“Nice.” Wash grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl and quickly ate it before pulling out his phone and opening a game. 

“What are you doing?” North grabbed 9 mugs and set them out on the counter. He pulled out the coffee creamer, sugar, and 2% milk and set it down beside the mugs. 

“Grinding, I bet Florida that I’d have more wither skulls than him by the end of the week.” Wash played until the coffee poured into the pot. He slid off the counter and helped North ready everyone’s morning drinks

North set Connie’s, Florida’s, and Wyoming’s mugs off to the side for Wyoming to prepare. The Brit like to switch up what they drank. He also refused to drink North’s tea, since he apparently could never make it correctly. 

Either way, North slid Maine’s, Carolina’s and Wash's cup over to Wash for him to make. There was one thing Wash could make and he liked to try different things with their drinks.

North slid South her mug and started readying York's and his own. Quickly all of the coffee was read and placed at all of the freelancer's chairs around the counters to cool. Wyoming walked in sweatpants and Florida's blue hoodie with hair wet from the showers. He took the kettle of boiling water off the stove and started preparing the tea.

North, South, and Wash rarely attended the pre-dawn training session and instead had to make everyone's coffee. York was the next one in the room and grabbed the mug from North. 

The mugs had been a pseudo-gag gift from the director for the 1 year anniversary of Project Freelancer. They were custom ordered in the colors of the agents’ armor with their corresponding state flower on the side. Wash and Connie weren't a part of the team when they first got the gifts so the director ordered them theirs afterward. Wash would deny it, but everyone had seen him tear up when we first saw his. 

In return, the freelancers had started a tradition of going to thrift shops and finding the worst t-shirts and giving them to him for their non-denominational winter holiday gift exchange. The current winner was a shirt that started first glance said “I love my wife”. But upon a closer look, it actually read “I love it when my wife lets me mini golf”. Carolina had let it slip that he wore it around his private quarters fairly often. 

All of the agents, excluding Maine, had made it into the room and had migrated to the couches surrounding the coffee table in front of the TV. UNSC news played softly in the background. Wash finished his coffee first and cleaned his mug in the sink before moving back to the couch. Several more freelancers finished but didn’t get up, instead choosing to leave their warm mugs on coasters on top of the glass table and continuing to talk. Florida collected then dirty mugs and moved to clean them. Wash followed him. After the dishes, excluding Maine’s still full mug, were cleaned, Florida and Wash headed towards the door. 

“Now, where are you two going?” York leaned over the back of the couch. 

“Well, now. Washington asked me for help with his knife skills, Maine is going to join us.” Florida made to open the door when a loud crack followed by crashing drew their attention to the kitchen island again. A bright light quickly faded. A figure in seafoam armor drew themselves to their feet behind the island and pointed a gun over the counter at the armorless freelancers. They were soon joined by someone in gray armor with yellow accents as they scrambled to their feet. 

Neither figure made an aggressive move beyond pointing their guns at the armorless freelancers, but both of them kept their fingers on the triggers of their weapons. 

“Lina, Wash, isn’t that your armor?” York was careful not to make any sudden moves, still, the seafoam one turned to point her gun at him. 

“Who are you?” The gray one spoke. Florida tried to inch towards the button on the wall that would connect them to whoever was on camera duty and at least get their attention if they hadn’t already noticed the new arrival. 

The seafoam one turned from York and aimed at Florida. “Don’t move.” Florida stopped moving.

Wash looked around. FILSS should have detected the intruders and sent this section of the MOI into lockdown. Even if something had messed with her, the person on camera duty could activate lockdown remotely. 

Instead, the door Wash and Florida were next to, flew off its hinges and Maine stormed into the room. Washington and Florida scrambled away from the door and Maine charged the intruders without hesitation. 

The two intruders when in opposite directions as Maine dove over the island at them. The gray one yelled, “Meta!” as he dodged the freelancer. At the distraction, the freelancers on the couch made for the open doorway. York, Wash, and Carolina made it out, but the person with the seafoam armor blocked the door before any more could escape. 

Maine chased Gray around the room. The uninvited visitor couldn’t get far enough away to use his firearm. He instead focused on simply trying to run away from the freelancer chasing him. Seafoam kept the remaining freelancers in the room while also trying to aim at Maine. They couldn’t risk firing though, without the possibility of hitting their partner. 

The speaker on the wall drew Seafoam’s attention as a chiming noise echoed from it, followed by FILSS saying, “Now activating armor lock for all units in the freelancer community area. Please standby for lockdown.” 

All three sets of armor lockdown, trapping their wearers. Maine had managed to get Gray into a headlock and they were frozen in that position. 

After a moment, male voice with a noticeable southern accent spoke over the intercom. “FILSS, please release Agent Maine.”

“It'd be my pleasure.” Another chime sounded and Maine could move. 

The Director spoke again. “Agent Maine, move them away from the doorway and disarm them. The rest of you, go get your armor.”

The remaining freelancers scrambled out of the door. York, Wash, and Carolina ran into the room, carrying weapons as Maine searched Seafoam. York and Wash kept their guns pointed at the locked figures while Carolina moved to disarm Gray. 

A growl from Maine drew her attention to the intruder that matched her armor. Almost a dozen knives of various sizes were laid on the ground along with several different types of grenades, some glowing orange cubes, and 4 different types of guns. 

Maine held something out to Carolina. “Look.”

Gray inhaled sharply at Maine’s voice. Maine held out his hand and showed Carolina two armor enhancements. Carolina took them. Speed and adaptive camouflage, the same enhancements she had. 

Maine tilted his head.

Carolina shook her head. “We’ll deal with it in a minute.” She moved back to Gray and finished stripping him of weapons. They moved all of their weapons to a corner with the freelancers standing between the intruders and the weapons and awaited orders. Carolina held onto Seafoam’s enhancements as well as the healing unit she had found on Gray. 

“FILSS, I want you to be ready to put the one in gray and yellow back in lockdown at a moment’s notice. For now, let the gray one out.” The voice over the speaker was the Councilor. 

Gray immediately moved between the freelancers and Seafoam and got into a fighting stance. 

North lowered his sniper rifle. “Hey, let’s all try and calm down now.”

Gray laughed. “I’d agree with you if I wasn’t standing in a room of people who are pointing weapons at me-” Seafoam cut him off the best she could, despite not being able to move her jaw. 

Gray looked back at Seafoam before nodding and turning back to the freelancers. “I think my partner would rather do the talking.” A tremor ran through Gray.

“Very well. Relock his armor and release his companion.” The Director accepted.

Another chime sounded and both Gray and Wash’s armor locked down. Seafoam’s armor then released.

The Director sighed. “FILSS, please release Agent Washington.”

“Very well.” Both suits of gray armor exited lockdown mode simultaneously. 

“FILSS, why do you keep releasing the intruder’s armor when I asked you to only release Washington’s?” The Director sounded frustrated.

“I am sorry, sir, but in my system, the intruder is registered as being Agent Washington.”

Seafoam spoke up. “That’s probably because he is Agent Washington.” 

FILSS came over the speaker system again. “Huh, that would probably explain the discrepancy. Then would you also be Agent Carolina.”

“You’d be correct, FILSS.” The intruder Carolina looked towards the ceiling. 

“Director, what should we do?” Most of the freelancers were unsure on how to proceed, including Carolina, who had spoken.

“Remain where you are. We have some questions for Carolina and Washington. If that’s okay with you?” The Councilor asked cautiously. 

Intruder Carolina turned to her companion and quietly asked, “Are you going to be okay?”

When Wash replied, his voice was shaky. “I can deal with it for now.”

Carolina didn’t like that answer but nodded anyway. Washington moved behind her, still shaking occasionally. Carolina could hear his unsteady breathing and his vitals on her HUD read his heartbeat as almost on the verge of a panic attack. 

Carolina readjusted her stance. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

* * *

 

Connie watched the exchange nervously. All of the freelancers were listening to their private radio frequency where North and York were discussing conspiracy theories on what was happening. They were currently debating whether it was time travel or if they were alien created clones. The rest of the freelancers were tuning them out and talking on the text channel instead.

**WSH: Something must have happened to them**

**STH: no shit**

**FLD: From what I can see, Not You is not coping very well.**

**CRL: He looks like hes having a panic attack.**

**FLD: Probably, considering he’s standing in a room where he’s pointing a gun at himself.**

**MNE: i dont like it**

**MNE: hes not acting like wash**

**WYO: I’d have to agree with you. He’s basically hiding behind Not Carolina.**

**FLD: He’s shaking really badly.**

Florida had a point. It didn’t even seem like Not Wash was listening to the Councilor’s and Director’s questions. He was instead periodically staring off into space for a couple of minutes only being pulled out of the daze by a full body shiver. He would then case the room again, and repeat the process. 

**NTH: I think he’s disassociating**

**STH: are you two done with your conspiracy theory contest now**

**YRK: not even close. we havent even gotten to alternate dimensions yet.**

**YRK: but i dont think hes disassociating exactly.**

**CRL: Theres probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.**

**YRK: disassociating is when your body kind of goes on autopilot so you dont have to mentally deal with what evers going on.**

**YRK: i think hes distracted by something.**

**CNT: And on the verge of a panic attack**

**YRK: that too**

**WYO: You might want to start paying attention to what’s going on.**

**YRK: you say that, but maines been filming this entire thing. we can look at it later.**

**MNE: sure**

**WYO: What inspiring confidence.**

**CNT: Shut up and pay attention. Not Wash is going to start talking.**

* * *

 

“Wash. Wash.” Carolina nudged Washington, knocking him out of the daze. “Are you up to answer a couple questions?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Wash shook his helmeted to try and clear the clouds from between his ears. “I’m okay.” He raised his voice above a whisper and looked towards the ceiling. “What is it?”

The Director repeated his question. “Do you have any idea how you got here?”

Wash looked to Carolina to know how much he could say. “I only told them about us busting the merc hideout. I didn’t give them anything else.”

“Okay.” Wash tried to steady his voice. “I’m assuming the merc’s weapon was what sent us here.”

“Do you know where ‘here’ is?” Wash had to actively stop himself from stiffening at the Councilor’s question.

Wash took a deep breath. “We’re on the Mother of Invention aren’t we?”

“You’d be correct.” The Director confirmed.

“Though, I’m assuming that’s not what you were actually asking me.” No one spoke up at Wash’s remark.

Wash turned to Carolina. “We’re either in the past or in an alternate universe. That or hallucinating.” 

There was a pause before the Councilor broke the silence. “Now, that might be a jump in logic-”

“Not really.” Wash cut off the Councilor’s statement. “The technology that sent us here is related to devices that allows us to teleport. When we were first messing with that tech, we lost one of our own in a place outside of time and reality for a while. The teleporting tech was probably combined with some other tech that we’ve encountered before that allows you to mess with time. It’s not that much of a stretch that we landed somewhere else.”

The silence that followed was one of both shock and disbelief. The next voice that came over the speaker was one that Wash recognized but couldn’t place. “You said it was either time travel or dimensional teleportation, which one do you think it?” The voice was feminine.

“I think it’s both. I don’t remember this room at all. We never had a community area. It was never in the plans for the ship and the MOI crashed around 5 years ago. Though it’s probably about 8 years in the past just from context clues. I also don’t know who you are.”

“I’m General Church, but you can refer to me as the General.” The woman introduced herself.

Wash searched through his memory for someone known as the general and couldn’t find anyone outside of Chorus. He eventually stumbled upon one of the Director’s memories that floored him. Wash’s knees gave out as he saw a blonde woman dressed in camo complain about how the Director was going to make her late. 

Wash was out of breath. “Allison. You’re Allison. You’re Agent Texas.” He could feel Carolina’s hands on his shoulders but his breathing was ragged and his vision was tunneling. Wash felt his back press up against the island and held his hands to the sides of his head. 

His HUD warned about his dangerously high heart rate and that he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. He tore his helmet off to stop the beep. Wash screwed his eyes shut and threw his helmet across the room. He heard the Director yell something over the speakers, but it was nothing compared to the buzzing in Wash’s ears. Carolina was fighting someone.

Wash felt a prick on the side of his neck and lashed out. His foot connected with something, but it was too late. The buzzing began quieting, as did the rest of Washington’s thoughts until he couldn’t think anymore and submitted to the quiet darkness that the drug offered.

* * *

 

North jumped at the sound of Not Wash collapsing. He fell and pressed against the kitchen island. Every inch of him was shaking like a leaf and North could hear him hyperventilating. 

Not Carolina spun to face Not Wash and kneeled down. She pressed her gloved hands on his shoulders. She was trying to ground him.

Not Wash didn't react to her touch, instead preferring to pull his helmet off the throw it across the room. 

North froze at the sight. He looked exactly like Wash, except more scarred and tired. It didn't look like he'd slept in a week. 

North knew that Wash sometimes had bouts of insomnia, but it wouldn't last more than a day or two before someone either wrapped him in blankets and slept with him to make sure he actually slept or someone would make him get sleeping meds from the med bay.

Not Wash's eyes were pressed close but North bet they would be dilated to hell if they were open. His black roots had grown out more than the Washington North knew would ever stand. His hair was about to his ears. It had been a long time since his last haircut.

“Sedate him.” The General commanded over the speakers. 

A medic in red armor with white accents poked his head into the room and looked around.

“NO!” Not Carolina rose to her feet and prepared to defend her companion. 

“Carolina, York, Wyoming, subdue her. Sedate her if she won't comply.” The Director spoke. The medic and several others walked into the room and hid behind the wall of armed freelancers.

Carolina, York, and Wyoming shared a brief glance before fanning out and surrounding Not Carolina. 

“I won’t let you touch him.” Not Carolina almost growled the sentence.

“We don’t want to hurt you.” Carolina drew her fists in a mimicry of her doppelgänger.

Not Carolina didn’t grace Carolina with a reply, instead choosing to rush her. The two were almost evenly matched. Though in a fair fight, Not Carolina would have won. She held all of the grace and power of Carolina with the desperation of fighting for her life and her family on a near-daily basis.

But she wasn’t skilled enough to fight herself, York, and Wyoming at that same time. After a few minutes, the freelancers had her pinned to the ground and a medic administered a sedative. In less than a minute, she was unconscious. 

Another medic approached Not Washington. The soldier still hadn’t looked up. In the time since Not Carolina had tried to fight, he had gone from just holding his head to pulling at his hair and scratching at his implants. Another medic managed to administer him a sedative but received a booted kick to the kneecap for his troubles. After Not Wash fell asleep, everyone in the room looked to the ceiling for instructions.

It was the Director who spoke. “Take them both to the med bay. Strip them of their armor and run a full diagnosis on both of them as well as their armor.”

“Don’t restrain them in the med bay, but make sure that they are monitored at all times.” The Counselor chimed in. “Take them out of their body suits and dress them in casual clothing. Their counterparts are probably around the same size.”

The medical staff moved to follow the directions and soon both of the intruders were loaded onto cots and taken to the med bay. When all of the medical staff had left the room, the freelancers turned to the ceiling for instructions. 

“Proceed with the day as if nothing had happened. If anything does occur, you will be alerted. The common room will be repaired by this evening.” The Director didn’t leave any room for discussion and the agents filed towards the training rooms. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina wakes up in a hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that this took so long to update. I already have the next chapter written, I just have to edit it.

Carolina could hear a steady beeping in her right ear. The air smelled sterile and she could hear people talking and moving around her. Her limbs felt heavy and Carolina recognized the feeling of being drugged.

It didn’t feel like she was tied down at all but the ex-freelancer couldn’t feel the bodysuit that had become her second skin at this point. From the increased noise, Carolina guessed that the people around her knew that she was awake and that she only had a few minutes before something out of her control happened.

Despite her groggy state, Carolina pulled herself into a sitting position. A medic in basic armor with red and purple stripes rushed over to her bed and shined a light in her eyes. After a brief checkup and medic patted her shoulder and moved to seemingly report Carolina's state to a superior.

The room was mainly sterile white with bright lights on the ceiling along the wall was various beds, including the one where Carolina was. It was the room where they kept patients that would need to be monitored, unlike the recovery wing where someone was free to leave as soon as they woke up.

Carolina was wearing a tank top that matched her armor and white sweatpants. Her mostly dyed hair was hanging loose around shoulders with the first few inches her natural blonde.

Washington was sleeping on a bed next to her. A blanket was pulled up to his neck.

Carolina pushed the rest of her blanket on to the foot of the bed and moved to stand up. The same medic from before rushed over.

“No! Don't stand up.” He sounded vaguely Minnesotan. Carolina paused her efforts.

The medic helped her back on to the bed before speaking again. “You're not cleared to leave yet and I've got a couple of questions to ask.”

Carolina didn’t try to get up again but didn’t reply either.

The medic looked at her expression before sighing. He spread his hands in front of him placatingly. “Let’s compromise. You ask me a question and I answer it to the best of my ability and then I ask you a question and you answer it to the best of your ability. Does that sound okay?”

Carolina thought for a second before resituating herself on the bed and pulled her feet into her lap. “Okay, let’s parley.”

The medic looked up to the ceiling and muttered something at Carolina didn’t entirely catch. She did hear him at least say the word ‘overdramatic’ before he pulled his attention back to Carolina.

“Alright.” He nearly sat in the chair between Carolina and Wash’s bed, before realizing his mistake and moving to sit on the other side of Carolina’s bed. He sat in the chair and pointed his stylus at Carolina. “Shoot.”

“Where are we?”

“You are currently in the medical bay of the Mother of Invention. We are on the third floor and near the back of the ship. How old are you?”

Carolina paused at the odd question for a moment, before thinking back and trying to recall the date. “34.”

The medic nodded, wrote something on a datapad he took off of a small table that sat beside Carolina’s bed, and waited for her next question.

“Why am I here instead of in the brig?”

“The Director instructed that you would be monitored here until you woke and so he could talk to you. I think he, the General and the Councilor are waiting until we're done to come and get you.” The medic looked down at the datapad again before looking up. “Are you fully vaccinated?”

“Yes, I am. Why am I awake when Wash isn't?”

“We're keeping him sedated for now. When we were checking the vitals on you two, and he clearly hasn't soundly slept in over 6 days. We're planning to keep him under for the rest of tonight and wake him up tomorrow afternoon.”

“Don’t do that. Wake him up.”

The medic tilted his head. Carolina could tell that he was purposely exaggerating his body language, probably to make up for the fact that he was wearing a helmet. “Why’s that?”

When Carolina didn’t instantly reply, the medic spoke up again. “You don’t have to be specific. I get that you don’t trust me. I just need a reason.”

Carolina looked at Wash, asleep in his bed. “Nightmares. He doesn’t sleep if he doesn’t feel safe and even then he still has nightmares.” Carolina stopped talking to look at the medic as he swiped to something else on his datapad. He nodded for her to continue.

“He was in an accident and they gave him medicine that made him sleep because he wouldn’t. It made him sleep but he still had nightmares. If he wakes up in here he’s probably going to attack and possibly hurt someone.”

The medic finished writing something down. He then proceeded to wave down another medic and showed them what we’d written. They exchanged a few quiet words before the medic who had been talking to Carolina pressed a few more buttons on his tablet before swiping back to what he was originally looking at.

Carolina desperately wanted to ask what that was about but she couldn't waste her questions. “What do you want?”

“Personally, I want to go to bed but at the current moment I want you to answer my questions.” Carolina opened her mouth to speak but the medic cut her off. “I know what you mean. Right now the big three want to ask you more questions but they're not getting you two until we're done with you. Now, do you have any allergies we should know about?”

At this point, Carolina had given up on trying to understand his questions and simply answered, “No.”

The medic nodded and made another note.

Carolina glanced around the room again. “Where are the freelancers?”

“Currently, I'm pretty sure that they're behind that wall, and they're probably watching us.” The medic pointed at a large mirror on the wall behind Carolina's bed. “Normally it's see through but I'm guessing someone reflected it so they didn't freak you out. This room is called Recovery 2 and it's specifically for people we need to watch while they recover, which is also what that window is for.”

The medic scrolled down a bit farther on his datapad. “Does your family have a history of heart disease?”

“No.” Carolina was started to sense a pattern in the medic’s questions. “Are you filling out a medical document for me?”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner.” The medic threw his hands up in mock celebration. “You solved my question puzzle. We think that we could probably use Agent Carolina’s medical history for you but both us medical staff and the big three want to be thorough and catch if something’s different between the two of you. Now, do you want to keep playing 20 questions or can you help me fill out this paper? Afterward, I’ll keep answering any questions you have.”

Carolina thought the medic’s offer through before agreeing to it. The questions were very standard. Does your family have a history of cancer? Have you had any prior medical operations, if so, what? Are you pregnant/do you plan on becoming pregnant? Do you smoke? Do you drink? If you die, what kind of funeral do you want? Please list your next of kin.

No. Yes, the neural implant surgery. No. No. Sometimes. Cremation. Carolina refused to answer that last one but the medic brushed it off and continued. Soon they had reached the end of the document on the medic’s datapad.

“Is it okay if you help me fill out Washington’s paper as well?” The medic had moved from sitting on the chair normally to sitting on the back of it with his feet on the seat. “It’s okay if you don’t know everything, I just want to get the paper started.”

Carolina nodded. “I have one question first.”

The medic looked at her. “Alright, shoot.”

“What’s your name?”

The medic snorted. “That’s kind of a weird. It’s Nick Fire.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Nick.”

He waved off her comment. “Just call me Fire. Why’d you ask that out of all questions?”

Carolina shrugged.

“Nice. Everyone on board has either been calling you Not-Carolina or Other-Carolina. The same for your friend over there.” Fire jabbed his thumb in the direction of Washington.

Washington’s questions went a lot faster than Carolina’s as many of them she passed an answering. About halfway through, Fire’s tablet pinged with a message. Carolina stopped talking as he looked at his tablet.

“Good news.” Carolina could almost hear the smile through his accent. “That was a message from the Councilor. I’ve got permission to take Washington off of the sleeping meds.” Fire stood up and walked to the other side of Wash’s bed where an iv stand fed into his arm. The medic took the bag off the stand and removed the needle from Washington’s arm. Fire taped a small piece of gauze onto the soldier’s elbow. “It’ll take him a few hours to wake up, so what should we do?”

Fire waited a few moments. “Carolina?”

Carolina faltered for a moment. She’d thought that he was asking another medic. “Do you have any rooms that someone isn’t bunking in?”

“I can’t name any off the top of my head but I’m sure that we do somewhere. I’m guessing he wouldn’t react too well to making up in a medical ward.”

Fire surely saw Carolina tense up at his statement. He tilted his head and was definitely smiling behind his visor. “I’m not gonna pry. I’ll send the Councilor another request for permission.” He pulled out his stylus again and wrote a quick message before sending it off. This time his tablet pinged after just a few seconds. He barely looked at the message before turning back to Carolina. “And there we go. I’ll get that setup. I think we’re basically done here but do you need anything?”

“My armor.” Carolina knew it was unlikely, but so far Fire hadn’t let her down.

Fire shrugged. “I’ll ask but I can’t promise anything.” A few more taps on his pad and the request had been filed. The reply was instant. “No dice.”

“I didn’t expect that work.”

“But it was worth a shot. Anything else?” Fire fiddled with his stylus. He tucked his datapad under his arms and started tossing the pen from hand to hand. He wasn’t looking, so it was likely an unconscious habit.

“Food.”

“I believe that I may be able to assist with that.” FILSS voice spoke from a ceiling. “The Director is requesting your presence, Carolina, but I’m certain he will not mind if you stop for a midnight snack first. When you are ready, you are cleared to leave Recovery 2 and I will lead you to a place where you can find something to eat. When you are finished eating, I’ll lead you to the bridge.”

“Okay, FILSS.” Carolina stood up from the bed and nearly ate shit. The slowness from the drug had left her limbs but she’d been sitting on her legs and her ankles wouldn’t support her at all. Carolina caught herself on the edge of her bed.

“You okay?” Fire was leaning over Wash’s bed. His arms were raised and if it wouldn’t have forced him to vault an unconscious freelancer, he probably would have caught Carolina’s arm.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”Carolina pulled herself upright.

Fire visible and verbally huffed. “Alright, but if you need literally anything, just ask FILSS.”

Carolina started toward the door out of the room, before turning back to Fire one last time. “Get me when he’ll wake up in a couple hours.”

Fire shot Carolina a thumbs up and she stumbled out of the room into the hallway. A few other medical personals gave the partial redhead an odd look but they had FILSS speak and didn’t try to stop her.

The door automatically opened when Carolina neared the door and on doe’s feet, she walked through. The hallway looked exactly the same as Carolina remembered and she didn’t know how to feel. In the medical ward, she could pretend that this wasn’t really happening but it was a lot more difficult when she was standing barefoot on freezing metal floors that she had called home years ago.

A strip of lights on the floor lit up a calming blue-green color that perfectly matched her armor. Carolina felt like throwing up.

“Are you alright, Carolina?” FILSS’s omnipresent voice didn’t help with Carolina’s building nausea.

She took a deep breath and swallowed down the acid in her throat. “Yes, I’m fine.”

The ex-freelancer started down the hall, glad that the pins and needles in her legs gave her something to focus on. Too bad they didn’t last too long. Soon all the noise in the hall was Carolina’s breathing and the constant white noise that a ship of the Mother of Invention’s size produced.

Carolina guessed the FILSS was purposely steering people out of her path since she hadn’t met a single person on her walk. Eventually, the lights led Carolina to the first door that Carolina had seen with an actual doorknob.

Carolina slowly opened the door and was greeted with the room she and Wash had dropped into when they had first arrived. Short gray carpet covered most of the floor, shifting to hardwood around the kitchen and island. Left of the entrance was a glass coffee table surrounded by a fair sized couch, a couple of recliners and what looked like the biggest bean bag Carolina had ever seen. A couple of smaller bean bags were spread throughout the area.

The seating was directed at a large screen on the wall with shelves surrounding it. On the selves where various objects ranging from a small stuffed pig to a clear bowl with blue streaks in it filled with cheap bead necklaces to a small unicorn pillow pet to one shelf that was entirely filled with different colors of hair dye to one that just contained a house of cards made with uno cards.

The kitchen had a granite countertop that matched the one on the island. On the island was a centerpiece made of marble with a stuffed black dragon with large green eyes and a red attachment to the end of its tail sitting on top. Beside it was a wooden bowl containing fresh fruit and a plastic ball made of interlocking panels. Carolina took the ball out of the bowl and tossed it from hand to hand briefly before putting it back in the bowl. While in the air, the panels of the ball shifted and revealed another set of panels. This set was a different color than the first and was covered in small ridges.

Cabinets were pressed against the wall and hanging over more counters. Carolina went through every single cupboard. They all contained things that you would normally find in a kitchen. Bowls, cups, spices, pans, measuring cups. Carolina found a dishwasher hiding as one of the cabinets below the countertop and caught a face full of steam as a result. She did, however, note the location of the snack cupboard.

The fridge was fully stocked with perishables and fresh food. The freezer held ice trays that connected to a tap on the front that produced water and ice when a cup was held up to it. The front of the fridge was stainless steel and covered in both dry erase marker and various magnets. A package of markers was stuck to the side of the fridge. Carolina could recognize York’s handwriting in a tan that matched his armor. Her own handwriting stared back at her in bright cyan beside York’s.

Carolina didn’t recognize any of the other handwritings but she could guess from their colors. Connie’s brown scrawl often showed up near Wash’s bright yellow. There was a gray marker in the holder but it would have been difficult to see on the gray of the fridge. Lilac and violet markers chased each other across the surface, never straying far from each other. Blue and white occasionally separated for conversations but mostly stuck close together. An orange marker that ran the line between the yellow of Maine’s helmet and Sigma's fire was sparsely seen through the mess but seemed to gravitate towards Wyoming’s white or Wash’s yellow.

Carolina felt something run down her cheek. She hadn't realized that she was crying. The ex-freelancer pushed back the emotions as forced herself to stop thinking about the fact that she didn't even know what her past teammates’ handwriting looked like.  

Instead, she dug through the fridge and found leftovers of what looked like french toast. Pulling a plate from the cupboard, Carolina ate two pieces covered in cold syrup because she didn't feel like warming it up in the microwave.

Carolina didn't remember any of it and only realized she was moving when her plate was empty. She threw the paper plate in the trash and washed her silverware. Before leaving the common room, Carolina walked back to the shelves beside the tv.

One of the shelves was filled with all sorts of stim toys. She guessed that most of them were York's since he was the only she knew who used stim toys, but he’d never told anyone except her and even then he’d only told her when she found one in their shared room that he’d forgot to put away. The only other person who knew was North.

Carolina grabbed a red and black fidget cube and took it with her out the door. FILSS reignited the teal light on the floor and led Carolina towards the front of the ship.

Carolina had barely reached the end of the hall when FILSS spoke again. She sounded very disapproving for a computer program. “Agent York, you know that you are not supposed to interact with Carolina until the Counselor has spoken with her."

A voice that Carolina a hadn't heard outside her nightmares for years came from down the hallway. "Oh come on, FILSS. You're really not going to let us even talk with her?" York's tone was undeniably playful.

"I'm sorry Agent York, but the director has given me direct orders."

"That's no fun." The filter over York's voice told her that he was in his armor. Carolina refused to turn around and look at him. "We want to talk to you."

Armored steps approached until it sounded like York was only a few yards from Carolina's back. Carolina messed with the fidget cube and tried to block out both York's voice and the bile climbing up the back of her throat.

"Well, I don't want to talk with you." All Carolina could do was choke out the sentence and walked away in a fashion she hoped didn't look terrified.

"You heard her, Agent York. Please leave."

York sighed deeply. "As you wish." He almost sounded disappointed but Carolina could hear York walking in the opposite direction she was heading.

Carolina made it around the corner into the next hallway before collapsing against the metal wall and sliding to the floor. Choked sobs escaped from her throat as she failed to silence them. Tears slid down her face and the bile in her throat was replaced with tightness.

Eventually, the tears stopped but the tightness didn't leave Carolina throat as she got to her feet and leaned against the wall.

FILSS spoke from the ceiling. "Carolina, do you need a minute?" Carolina was glad that there wasn't a hint of patronizing in her voice.

"Yeah, I just need a minute." The ex-freelancer rested her forehead against the cool metal wall as she slowly calmed down. After a little bit, Carolina took off walking again, still following the light FILSS provided on the floor.

She still messed with York's fidget cube, trying to calm herself as well as distract herself from everything that was happening. Soon she reached the bridge. Before pressing the panel beside the door, Carolina reminded herself that the people behind the door were not the same people who tore the first thing she may have considered a family apart just to see what would happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context: I headcanon York as ADHD but I don't really know how to write an ADHD character and represent them correctly. Instead, I'm going to be writing him as autistic and basing his experiences off my own.
> 
> Also, I'm sorry if things are a bit funky for the first portion of this, I still don't quite have a solid grip on Carolina's character.


	3. Chapter 3

The Director, the General, and the Counselor stood before the controls of the ship watching FILSS project a video of Carolina's progress through the Mother of Invention. All there of them had their undivided attention on her as she broke down after being confronted by York.

"It seems that interacting with the freelancers leaves her emotionally conflicted. Though that may just be with York." Aiden noted.

"She also cased all of her surroundings when given the chance." Leonard glanced at a smaller screen in the corner that showed the medical team moving an unconscious Washington into an extra room in the freelancers quarters.

"Yeah, but that's standard protocol." Allison turned to Aiden. "Did you get her report from the medics yet?"

Price nodded. "Her medical history is identical to Agent Carolina's. They also did a DNA test and the two could very well be identical twins if one there wasn't a several years difference."

Leonard and Allison shared a look at his Aiden's words.

"How is Washington's transfer going?" Leonard glanced at Carolina's screen briefly before turning back to Price. She was still on the floor.

"Good. The freelancers have been instructed not to mess with him."

"That didn't stop York from trying to talk to Carolina." Allison countered.

"Correct, but that message came from me. I sent the message about not disturbing Washington so it looked like you were the one who sent it, Allison."

"Clever. They know they'll be punished for disobeying the General without a good reason." Leonard was glad that Aiden had strong morals. He knew more about the mental states of the freelancers than anyone else. In the wrong hands, that information could tear the project apart in the wrong hands. It was the reason most of the information Aiden collected was never written down and FILSS wiped all recordings of them talking about it.

“Exactly.” Price turned back to the screen. “It seems like she has interacted with FILSS before.”

“It sure seems like it. She’s okay with FILSS but refuses to talk to her teammates." 

Leonard agreed with his wife. "Something must have happened between Carolina and her team."

"Something traumatic if I had to guess." Aiden tapped the back of his neck. "It may have to do with her damaged neural implants."

The three stood in silence and let their limited information stew in the air as they watched Carolina approached the door to the bridge. She paused for a moment before pressing the button and entering.

She was still holding the fidget cube that she’s taken from the freelancers’ room. When she saw the three standing before the screen that had previously shown, Carolina’s walk changed from forced respect to barely restrained rage.

Before the quiet in the room turned awkward, Price spoke up.

* * *

 

“Leah, we have a few questions, if I may call you that?” 

“No, you may not.” Carolina craved the expressionless visor that her helmet provided. “You can call me Carolina.”

The Counselor look surprised by the hostility in Carolina’s voice, but he didn’t seem upset. “Very well, do you know who we are?” He gestured to himself and his co-workers. 

“You are the Counselor of Project Freelancer. You’re in charge of making sure that all agents are mentally and physically healthy enough to perform in the field. You also have access to the medical work for everyone on the Mother of Invention.”

Carolina turned her head to look at the man who had gone mad with grief. “You’re Doctor Leonard L. Church the Director of Project Freelancer. You decide which agent is best suited to go on which mission and what the mission is in the first place.”

She turned to the blonde woman who stood beside the Director. “You’re General Allison Church. I don’t anything else about you.” Carolina only knew the General’s first name because Wash had said it before he broke down. But he had also accused her of being Agent Texas. 

Spending so much time with Epsilon had softened Carolina to the idea of Texas, but it was a difficult thing to change. If what Wash had said was true, and Texas and the woman whose name Carolina recognized as her mother, well that had some bearing that Carolina didn’t want to think about right now.

“Very good. May I ask why you don’t know as much about General Church?” God, Carolina wanted to punch all of them. But she restrained herself, clearing her voice of emotion.

“During the Project, there was no one with the title General. It was only the Director and the Counselor. I met someone very similar to you, but I don’t think that you're the same person.”

“Would you like to elaborate on that point?” It was the Director who asked.

Carolina refused to meet any of their gazes an instead looked through them out into the stars beyond the glass behind them. “No, I would not.” Carolina cursed the shiver that went through her as the three shared a look and how she kept talking in a long since learned attempt to not disappoint them. “I have some ideas but Wash would probably have a more accurate guess.”

The Counselor slid a datapad off the control panel and tapped a few buttons before speaking. “According to the medical report from the hospital, your neural implants are damaged to the point where they are nearly unusable, why is this?”

FILSS changed the images on the screen behind the Counselor to show images of Carolina’s damaged implants and a picture of undamaged implants beside it. 

Carolina unconsciously ran her hand over her implants, feeling that slight cracks that Maine had left, even though most of the damage was internal. “I was attacked by one of my teammates and left for dead afterward.”

The General and the Director shared a quick glance at the comment and Carolina was taken aback by how much the Director shared with only one look. He was clearly worried and upset. The General looked more frustrated.

The Counselor ignored them and continued asking questions. “David shows-”

“Don’t call him that.” Carolina snapped at the Counselor, looking him dead in the eyes. He broke eye contact first.

“Alright.” He was choosing his words very carefully. “Washington shows major scarring around the site of his implants. And earlier, when he broke down, he started digging at his implants. Do you know why?”

Carolina nodded, refusing to make eye contact once again. “I do, but I don’t think that I’m the one who should tell you it.” 

The Director didn’t seem particularly pleased with that answer but he didn’t prod. The General, however, asked a new question. “Why did you take that?”

Carolina’s mind ran through a list of things she and Epsilon had stolen since crashing on Chorus before realizing that the General had nodded towards the stim toy she was carrying.

Carolina nearly spoke without thinking but managed to catch her tongue. “My partner used to have a couple of these. I haven’t seen any in years and they remind me of him.”

That seemed to especially interest the Counselor. The Director spoke quietly to his coworker for a second before the Counselor turned back towards Carolina. 

“You seem to hold some sort of hostility towards us, as the only time you looked any of us in the eye is when you threatened me and you keep withholding information that you deem important from us. You also seem to know Washington very well and you refuse to reveal anything about him without his consent, even though you were apparently attacked and left for dead by one of your past teammates. You also specifically avoided naming which teammate it was. The only time you relaxed even slightly throughout this conversation was when you talked about Agent York, so it seems that you still care about at least him, even if one of your other teammates attacked you. You also reach for comfort objects that remind you of a time when things were, seemingly better.”

“So, Counselor, what do you think?” The Counselor looked back at the Director, contemplated for a moment, and then spoke.

“This is only a surface level analysis. She is clearly and openly hostile towards us but has still given us at least a small benefit of the doubt, as she has not attacked us even though we are unarmed. I think the least we could do is return the trust that she’s given us.”

“I concur.” The General, who had spoken, the Director, and the Counselor shared a brief glance before turning back to Carolina. 

“Please follow us.” The Counselor started walking away from the bridge with the General and the Director beside and past Carolina, out into the hallway. The door opened automatically and a strip of green lights lit up on the floor. Carolina hesitated as the Director and the General walked by her, but hesitantly followed.

* * *

 

The Churches sped up their pace to walk alongside Price. FILSS was leading them to their private quarters with an alternate version of their daughter in tow. Leonard desperately wanted to talk to Allison about this, but that would come later. 

Right now they needed to try and get her to feel comfortable, so they could actually talk to her without her seeming to consider running every couple of minutes. Allison would bet good money the only reason Carolina hadn’t immediately bolted and tried to escape from the MOI was because Washington was unconscious and she didn’t know where her armor was. 

Everything on Carolina’s armor had been encrypted and only Price’s admin code had dropped the encryption, as it refused Leonard’s and didn’t acknowledge Allison’s in the slightest. Most of the files on Carolina’s armor was random pirated music she’d collected over the years, some intercepted transmissions from someone called Control, and some more recent pictures. However, the biggest collection of data on her armor was a collection of audio logs from Carolina that often included someone that Carolina referred to as either Epsilon or Church interchangeably.

They were daily journals that took course over nearly 8 months. According to FILSS, the first few months were of Carolina and Epsilon running around an unknown planet collecting abandoned freelancer tech.

About three months ago, Carolina was no longer journeying across and the planet and instead, fighting a civil war on the planet, apparently named Chorus. The war had been started by the inhabitants of the planet, however, it prevented from in an attempt to kill off all of the inhabitants so that ‘Control’ could have access to the valuable alien artifacts left there. Now, there were more people interrupting Carolina while she was recording the logs. Washington even appeared a few times. And despite their dire situation, he seemed to be doing okay. From the brief snippets of his voice FILSS had extracted from the recordings, he seemed to be on even footing with Carolina. Their relationship seemed almost familial.

Leonard was glad that Carolina at least had a few people looking out for her. However, FILSS had found one last thing in Carolina’s armor. They were a collection of encrypted logs that opened easily to FILSS, but it didn’t seem like Carolina had ever even accessed them.

Having only had Carolina’s armor for a couple of hours, no one had even started listening to the audio logs. FILSS had sorted through them and given a brief rundown of what they contained, and according to her, they logs were from Leonard himself.

Leonard had FILSS copy all of the audio logs to his datapad. It would take a long time to listen to all of them. There were over 240 logs from Carolina that varied from around 20 minutes to well over two hours of talking. The files that Leonard himself had apparently recorded added up to literal weeks of audio. 

Aiden went into his office and shut the door behind him. Allison and Leonard passed their offices and opened a door with a large sign on the front that read, “Do Not Enter. That Means You.” However, someone had come along with a red sharpie and scribbled out the Not.

Leonard pushed the door open and walked in. He automatically headed to the fridge. Allison waited outside the door for Carolina to come in. After everyone was inside, Allison half closed the door, purposely leaving a quick way out into the rest of the ship. 

Leonard pulled his head out of the fridge for a moment to look at his wife. "Bourbon or scotch?" 

"Bourbon." Allison leaned over the back of the couch and turned the TV to Grifball, setting the volume low to serve as background noise. Carolina looked around the room, before nervously taking a seat at the thin island that ran perpendicular to the couch the tv set up.

Leonard looked at Carolina. “Do you want anything to drink?"

* * *

 

Carolina stared at the man who looked so much like her father. 

He tilted his head to the side slightly. "You do know we're not going to hurt you, right?"

When Carolina didn't say anything, he just shrugged and made the General and himself drinks. He set the glasses on the counter and pulled a third glass out of the cupboard. The Director filled the glass with a red liquid from a pitcher. He paused for a moment, before pulling a smaller glass out of the cupboard and filling it with the same red liquid.

He turned back to Carolina, before downing the contents of the small glass. He then pushed the bigger cup full of the liquid toward Carolina and picked up his and the General’s drinks.

“That’s just Kool-Aid, by the way.” The Director walked around the couch and set the General’s drink on the wooden coffee table in front of her before sitting down next to her. The two had a brief conversation that Carolina couldn’t hear. The General seemed to win at whatever they were discussing as the Director shook his head but didn’t continue to argue, instead just reaching for his drink.

The General smiled and took a drink in sync with her husband before speaking. “FILSS, can you turn on How to Train Your Dragon 1?” 

Carolina definitely heard a smile in the AI’s voice. “I’d be happy to Allison.”

The lights in the room dimmed and the screen switched off of Grifball and to the beginning of Carolina’s favorite movie. She had every line in it memorized by the time she was 12 and could fully act out the entire movie in real time while imitating every character’s accent. Carolina bet that she still could if she had thought about the movie even once in the last 9 years.

“Is this still your favorite movie?” 

Carolina was forcefully snapped out of the memories at the Director’s voice. She grasped the wooden countertop to try and hide the shaking of her hands. “It is. I just-” Carolina felt like she was choking. She turned away from the sweeping shot of the Isle of Berk and looked to the light escaping into the room through the still half-open door. 

“I just haven’t thought about it in a long time.” 

“Do you want to watch something else?” Carolina turned back to see matching green eyes looking at her. He didn’t seem upset that she was less than a millisecond away from bolting out the open door.

"No, this is good." Carolina would bet good money that if the blood rushing in her ears wasn't so loud, she wouldn't believe herself either. 

But the Director just looked at her for a second before turning back to the screen.

The three sat in silence as the movie played. Carolina mouthed along to the dialogue and the soundtrack in the portions with no words. After half an hour, the Director's breathing evened out and he leaned heavily against his wife's shoulder.

That wasn't exactly surprising as the clock on the wall read 2:34. Either way, the General reached over her sleeping husband to grab a blanket and settle it over his lap. 

Slowly, piece by piece, Carolina relaxed. The padded bar stool was far from the worst thing she'd ever sat on and the room was warm. Carolina didn't sleep, but she did zone out and let her mind go blank. 

The Director slept through the movie, but Carolina could head the General humming along to the soundtrack. FILSS's voice pulled Carolina's head out of the clouds and into the music of the movie's credits. 

"Medical Officer Phoenix Fire is requesting Carolina to the Freelancer's quarters." FILSS voice was much quieter than normal, but the Director still stirred at her words. The General turned around, met Carolina’s eyes, and nodded slightly. 

Carolina quietly slid off the bar stool and silently walked out the door on bare feet. Once in the hall, she silently shut the door.

* * *

 

Allison looked back at where Carolina had been sitting. Allison stood up, letting Leonard fall off her shoulder and onto the couch with a start. His glasses fell onto the floor as he pulled himself upright. He peered over the back of the couch at the blurry shape of his wife standing near where Carolina had been sitting. 

She picked up the glass of Kool-Aid that Carolina hadn’t touched. She carefully poured it back into the pitcher for another time. Leonard sighed and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. He picked his glasses up off the ground and the two walked into their bedroom to go to sleep.   
  



End file.
